Truck drivers protest against harassment by local youths in Shantipur gate

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TINSUKIA: Skirmishes at Shantipur gate and beyond in the Assam-Arunachal border have become a regular affair. Frustrated over repeated harassment by local goons of Shantipur, Roing and other places of Lower and Upper Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, the drivers of truckers and goods-carrying vehicles from Assam (Tinsukia) resorted to protest on Wednesday in the Assam side of Shantipur gate and decided not to ply any goods vehicle to Arunachal Pradesh nor allow any Arunachalee vehicle to enter the Assam side. Though intervention of police from either side resolved the issue amicably, it was only temporary.

According to reports, any vehicle registered in Assam is subjected to harassment. The local tribal youths often extort money from the Assam passengers on any pretext; they do not even hesitate to assault physically. Most of these youths are addicted to drugs and need money on a regular basis and target soft passengers from Assam. Some local youths allegedly opened roadside sanitization centres and asked the car owners to cough up any amount ranging from Rs 150-250.

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